Amazon joins global companies such as Google, WhatsApp and Truecaller that have put their bets on the UPI business in partnership with banks.

Amazon’s efforts to issue its own Unified Payments Interface (UPI) handles in India has entered the closed user group stage, where the company is testing the payments product within a restricted user base, according to two bankers.
The American e-commerce firm is working with private sector lender Axis Bank on the product, they said.
ET had reported on August 6, 2018 that Amazon’s plans to enter UPI payments had hit the data localisation hurdle, since the Reserve Bank of India had stipulated that payments data should be stored in India only. UPI plans of another American technology company, WhatsApp, are understood to have got stuck because of this hurdle.
While Amazon already accepts UPI payments, it cannot issue its own handles. But if its plans go through, it can start issuing its own handles as well. It would join the list of other prepaid payment instruments or PPI licence holders such as Freecharge and Mobikwik which have jumped onto the UPI bandwagon over the past one year.
Mobikwik is offering UPI payments in partnership with HDFC Bank through the ‘ikwik’ handle and Freecharge is issuing UPI handles through Axis Bank.
Amazon would have to undergo an audit of where it is storing all the payments data before it can go live with the product, a senior banker told ET on condition of anonymity. As of now, the company is just testing the payments instrument.
“We are committed to the long-term vision of a less-cash India and continue to invest in experiences which reduce customer friction, improve affordability and foster everyday habits, thereby building preference for digital payments,” an Amazon spokesperson said in response to a query emailed by ET. Axis Bank did not respond to ET’s queries.
Amazon joins global companies such as Google, WhatsApp and Truecaller that have put their bets on the UPI business in partnership with banks.
“The relevance of standalone wallets is waning and further with the compulsory KYC (know-your-customer) norms of wallet holders the space has become expensive to operate in,” said another senior banker, who did not wish to be identified.
The Amazon spokesperson further said that Amazon Pay has enabled BHIM UPI as a payment option for its customers who can now use any of their existing UPI IDs to make payments for their Amazon orders. “We are very excited with our progress on BHIM UPI and continue to look for ways to increase adoption,” said the spokesperson.
In April last year, the RBI had mandated compulsory storage of payments data in India and given companies six months to comply. While this affected technology companies operating in mobile payments segment, it also posed a challenge to card schemes such as American Express, Visa and Mastercard.
Now, with every payments player having submitted a time frame within which it intends to adhere to the guidelines, the stalled processes are set to resume, said the bankers.
“Till entities complete storage of payment data within India, there will be no final go-ahead from the regulator,” said a banker cited earlier.Shoot